Here For You
by tina-gw
Summary: "And I know that too," Rose said, her voice now softer. "Look, I made a decision. A bad decision. A decision to protect my own happiness at Hogwarts. I - I knew that being friends with Scorpius would ostracise me, alright?". Rose and Albus make amends during the summer before their fifth year. Cursed Child spoilers.


For all of the Burrow's charms, strong infrastructure was not one of them. Wind and rain would loudly bash against the windows and, if the weather was particularly bad, they would ruggedly shake. For an extremely light sleeper like Rose Granger-Weasley, this was not ideal.

Mid-way through the summer before her fifth year, she found herself being awakened by the summer's rain against her window at the Burrow. Her parents were on a weekend away with her Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry — something which, Rose thought, they certainly deserved after the chaotic events of her fourth year.

Rose rubbed her eyes and looked over at the alarm clock beside her. It read 5 o'clock in the morning, an hour before it was set. Rose liked to make an early start to each day, so she could practice Quidditch before breakfast and study next year's syllabi before lunch.

She could hear Lily gently snoring above her in her bed. Not wanting to disturb her, she took care in quietly getting up and walking over to the long window in order to check how bad the rain was. She peaked out and, to her surprise, saw her cousin Albus sitting outside in the rain. He was wearing a rain jacket, of course, but the sight forced a twang of annoyance inside of Rose.

She didn't like how Albus always insisted on doing such _unnecessary_ things. Like the Christmas he refused to come to the Burrow because of a fight with her Uncle Harry. Or when he would refuse to go and visit Uncle Fred's grave. Or the time when he tried to bring Cedric Diggory back from the dead _\- twice!_ \- and forced her to cease to exist.

In reaction to the sight, her arms moved to cross themselves over her chest. But Rose noticed this and froze, guilt pouring down her.

Recently, she had been feeling more and more sorry for her cousin. The seeds had been laid when her dad had spoken to her at the start of her fourth year. Rose knew, deep down, that Albus _had_ been suffering and that she _had_ decided to turn a blind eye to it. While Rose had every right to be angry at him for what he had done during his fourth year, she did worry for him. She was worried about how he often looked tired around Hogwarts, despite being happier and more relaxed. She knew that he had witnessed Craig's death and the death of his grandparents and she also knew that, deep down, this was not something that Albus would be able to cope with easily.

She stood and stared at her cousin for a few more moments. They had been very close once, before Hogwarts. They had been best friends and, mingled up in the guilt, was regret too. Regret that things couldn't have been different; regret that she couldn't just ask Albus why he looked so tired all of the time.

Her eyes flickered to her open wardrobe, where she could see a rain jacket and a pair of trousers. She looked away again and back to her cousin. She continued to stare at him as he sat motionless in the now-light rain, half-annoyed at his behaviour and half-moved. The thought of getting changed and going down to sit with him trickled through her brain, closing further and further in.

And with it came sudden memories of her and Albus as children — Albus comforting her when James spilt juice over her books, comforting each other during the summer before Hogwarts over not being in Gryffindor…

Rose turned towards the closet again. After a second's hesitation, she went over and quietly got dressed.

* * *

Albus turned when he heard her ploughing across the grass to get to him. He looked away quickly, clenching his fists and rolling his eyes. Rose stopped behind him and when it became clear that she was waiting for him, he turned around and looked up at her.

"Yes, Rose?" He said. "Are you wanting to practise Quidditch an hour earlier today? I can move for you, if you want. Wouldn't want you missing out on practise, would I?"

Rose remained silent, mentally biting her tongue as she decided the best way to approach him.

"I woke up early," she explained. "And I saw you out here. I was wanting to come down and ask if you're ok. Are you ok, Albus?"

"Yes. Perfectly fine. You can go now," Albus replied and turned back around.

"Can I at least sit down?" Rose asked, silently praying that it was the right thing to say. She prepared herself for Albus's retort and wondered if she would end up being stubborn and attempting to stay. He was testing all of her patience with his unnecessary behaviour and it took everything in her not to demand why he insisted on being like this.

Albus continued sitting in silence and Rose wondered if he was going to start ignoring her. She had hoped that he had grown out of that.

"If you want."

Albus said it quietly, so quietly that it didn't register with Rose at first. When she didn't immediately move to sit down, Albus turned his neck again to look at her.

"Are you going to sit down or not?"

Surprised, Rose nodded at him and sat down. The pair sat in silence for several minutes, looking out at the vast green around them.

"I like to come out here when I can't sleep," Albus finally said. "I've not slept well since Halloween."

"Because of Craig?" She asked him, turning her face to look at his. "Look, I know we haven't been exactly close in years and I know you'll just think that my dad put me up to this. But I am here for you, Albus, genuinely — if you ever want to talk."

"You wouldn't understand," he snapped back. "You didn't see what I had to see."

"But Scorpius did," she said gently. "You could talk to him about it…"

"Do you really think that I wouldn't? And that I haven't, Rose? Are you really being that insulting?"

"Look, Albus," Rose snapped, unable to compose herself. "I'm trying to help here. I'm trying to make amends and - and - I _know_ what I did in first year was wrong. I know, alright?"

"It's a bit late for that," Albus replied dryly.

"And I know that too," Rose said, her voice now softer. "Look, I made a decision. A bad decision. A decision to protect my own happiness at Hogwarts. I - I knew that being friends with Scorpius would ostracise me, alright? I felt - I didn't want people to cause a fuss because I, a Granger-Weasley, decided to be friends with Scorpius Malfoy. It's hard enough being their children, and you know that too. And I know that it wasn't the brave decision or the good one but I made it all of those years ago and I can't take it back. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ceasing to be your friend because you did the right thing and made the brave decision. I'm sorry, ok? I am, Albus, I really am."

"I'm not complaining because I much rather prefer being Scorpius's friend than yours," Albus replied, looking at her with a cold expression on his face. To his surprise, his usually perfectly composed cousin seemed hurt by his words. "But you left me because of some silly prejudice over his parents too. It wasn't only because of the rumours. I clearly wasn't worth it, was I? If you would just leave me because his dad was a death-eater twenty years ago."

"I know, Albus — trust me," Rose said, her voice now breaking slightly. She paused, desperately trying to compose herself. "What I did to Scorpius was wrong — I'm not proud of it now. But my dad would say stuff to us about him, about Draco. You heard him on the platform before we boarded the train! He's never forgiven him, you know. I still don't think he entirely has, despite last Halloween. I know what he used to call my mum and what he used to say to her…"

" _Used_ ," Albus interrupted. "Twenty years ago. And you used that against his son, who was nothing but friendly towards you."

"I know, Albus!" Rose exclaimed. Her composure was now broken, tears leaking out of her eyes. "I know. But please — please just try and understand. I — I knew what he called my mum and it angered me, alright? How could it not? He called my mum that word all the time — that word which was why the Death-Eaters wanted her and those like her dead. It angered me and I immaturely tried to convince myself that Scorpius would be the same. It was prejudiced, I know it was, and I'm sorry for leaving you over a silly prejudice."

Albus had never seen Rose cry before. Well, he had, when they were children; over silly, childish things. But he didn't think that she was capable of crying now. She was always so composed, her life so timetabled and rigid. _Surely her emotions must mirror that_ , he thought.

Rose began to sob harder as she viciously wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her jumper. Finally, Albus spoke.

"I forgive you," he said.

Rose looked up at him, her eyes raw and red. There was disbelief in her eyes, unable to comprehend that Albus would be able to forgive her. She had wanted to make progress today, of course, but she never thought for a second that he would actually _forgive_ her.

"Really?" Rose sniffed, continuing to wipe her face.

"Yes, really," Albus replied. "You seem, as you would say, 'adequately' sorry."

"Oh Albus!" Rose exclaimed, flinging her arms around him. "Thank you - I'm so glad we can move past this!"

"Well, I don't think we'll ever be the best of friends again," Albus said, desperately trying not to show that he was moved by her outpour. "But we can be friends, yeah?"

"Of course!" Rose said, tightening her grip. "You're my baby cousin!"

"By three months!" Albus protested.

Rose laughed, sniffling again as her tears began to slow.

"But there's someone else who I think you also need to apologise to," Albus said firmly.

Rose loosened her grip and looked at him. She nodded, the uneasy feeling of guilt forming in her stomach.

"You're right," she said. "And I will, when he visits tomorrow. I wasn't very nice to him at all, was I?"

"Bit of an understatement, Rose," Albus replied.

"I was jealous," Rose said quickly, the words spilling from her mouth before she could restrain herself. "Of him — of you two. I — I thought that you chose him over me and that he stole you from me."

"You made the decision to leave that day, Rose. You could have stayed and been our friend too."

"I know, I know, Albus," Rose replied. "But it's why I acted the way I did, I think. And I'm going to apologise to him tomorrow, I promise. Scorpius is — he's — he's not what I thought, Albus. He's a good person, he's nice."

"He's a wonderful person," Albus replied. "He's the best person I know."

Rose smiled. "And I'm glad you at least had a friend like him over the past few years," she said. "And — what he did, giving up a world where he was 'The Scorpion King' for people that wouldn't have flourished in it. That was brave. And noble."

"That's what he is, Rose," Albus replied. "He was a bit more concerned when you vanished compared to me, I should add."

"Excuse me?!" Rose said, her eyes widening as she playfully hit his shoulder. "What a wonderful thing to know."

Albus grinned at her. "I should apologise for that too," he said.

"I forgive you," Rose replied, smiling back at him. "Just don't try it again. Don't ever go near a time-turner again."

"I wouldn't even think about it," Albus replied. He tried to keep his voice upbeat but pain cracked through. The pair of them were forced to stay quiet, Rose's arms still around him as she warmly placed her head on his shoulder again.

"I wouldn't mind, by the way," Albus finally said. "If you want to go on a date with him — with Scorpius. It would shut him up."

Rose snorted. "You don't need to worry about that," she said. "It's fifth year — I'm going to be focusing on my OWLs. I have no time for silly distractions."

"Ah yeah, of course," Albus replied. "I understand — I see the way you get distracted looking at him during potions. With your little red cheeks."

Rose began to blush furiously, playfully hitting his arm again. "You liar!" She said. "I'm a focused student. Ask any of my teachers!"

"Right, sure," Albus said. "Rose Malfoy suits you, though."

"Hey!" Rose hit him again. "Firstly, you're presuming that I would take his second name! Secondly, I do not like Scorpius! Thirdly, OWLs! I need to — I need to prove that I'm not just a second-rate Hermione Granger, you know. I need to do well."

Albus smiled at her. "I understand," he said. "And I'm here for you, if you ever need to talk about that."

Rose shut her eyes, her head still on her shoulder. "Thank you Albus," she said. "And I'm always here for you too."


End file.
